On Tuesday 27th August 2024, the Ministry of Information and Civic Education in partnership with the United Nations Foundation organized a Town Hall aimed at designing a pathway for lasting peace and national cohesion in the country.
Political leaders, Paramount Chiefs, youth groups, religious leaders, civil society activists, among others, were in attendance at the New Brookfields Hotel.
In conflict situations, women and children are the most vulnerable to violence and abuse. Conversations around peace therefore cannot happen successfully without their active participation.
The latest Town Hall showcased brilliance from exceptional women who proffered solutions to the question of sustainable peace and national cohesion in Sierra Leone.
Josephine Kamara, Director of We Are Purposeful, a globally acclaimed Non-Governmental Organization, described peace as not the absence of war but a social construct promoting social interaction, ideals, cultural understanding, and political agreements. She underscored that equality and dignity of all are imperative ingredients of peace and must be upheld in society.
She attributed Sierra Leone’s current economic problem to the crisis across the world particularly instability in the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine war, etc, and called on politicians to conscientise citizens on the geopolitics responsible for our predicament rather than using it to score political points.
She pointed out that a better understanding of happenings by citizens will enhance peaceful coexistence. She bemoaned the practice of FGM and called for women’s body autonomy in promoting women’s rights in society.
Madam Marie Bob Kandeh representing the Market Women’s Association, noted that addressing the economic challenges in the country will go a long way in consolidating peace.
She implored citizens and government functionaries to always go by the National Pledge and called on the APC and SLPP to unite in addressing the aspirations of citizens.
Sally N. Adams, the National President of Women’s Forum, recalled their role in bringing peace to the country during the war.
She informed that they were part of many efforts to convince former rebel leader Foday Sankoh to drop his arms and embrace peace.
On the fight against domestic violence, she called on the government to put strict measures in place to discourage violence against women.
Philipa Cride-Dole, President of the Children’s Forum Network, suggested an Inclusive approach in governance to enhance peace in Sierra Leone. She called for the culture of nationalism and patriotism to be inculcated by all and admonished that tribal tendencies be outrightly rejected.
She praised government for passing the Child Marriage Act and encouraged Parliament to look into the Child Right Act.